3,600 post offices up for closure: 3 here

From staff and wire reports

Updated 4:14 am, Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Photo: KIN MAN HUI

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The financially beleaguered United States Postal Service announced on July 26, 2011, that it is considering closing 3,600 post offices. Three are up for consideration in San Antonio, including the downtown location at 615 E. Houston St. less

The financially beleaguered United States Postal Service announced on July 26, 2011, that it is considering closing 3,600 post offices. Three are up for consideration in San Antonio, including the downtown ... more

Photo: KIN MAN HUI

3,600 post offices up for closure: 3 here

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WASHINGTON — The financially beleaguered U.S. Postal Service announced Tuesday it would consider closing more than 3,600 of its 32,000 post offices, including three in San Antonio.

Continuing efforts to reduce costs by shrinking the organization's retail network and workforce, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe released a list of the targeted offices, which are primarily in rural areas and produce little revenue. There will be a 60-day comment period before the Postal Service makes final decisions, which can be appealed to the Postal Regulatory Commission.

In communities that lose post offices, the Postal Service may outsource basic services such as selling stamps and shipping flat-rate packages, to local businesses including pharmacies and groceries, Donahoe said.

"The Postal Service of the future will be smaller, leaner and more competitive," he said.

The Postal Service, which relies primarily on its own revenue, is expected to lose more than $8 billion this year and has maxed out a $15 billion loan from the Treasury.

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Valdez said she puts outgoing letters in the mailbox instead of making the trip to the post office.

Alex Aleman, president of the San Antonio Alamo Area Local American Postal Workers Union, said the Postal Service is hoping customers such as Valdez will just use another location, but he says it runs the risk of losing customers and thus revenue to private companies such as FedEx or UPS.

"We're against the closures because it means that you're eliminating service to that particular community that relies on postal services," Aleman said. Postal services "are supposed to be a universal service available to every American citizen."

Express-News staff writer Claire Cardona and the New York Times contributed to this report.